Insurance Rip Off

[Cyker]

Ironically they were the cheapest for me!

 

[Haliotis]

3 hours ago, Cyker said:

Ironically they were the cheapest for me!

 

I have had our home insured with Adrian Flux since 2013, and it has always been reasonable.  But just renewed today and it leapt by about £200.  I have always paid in instalments, but this time I paid full up front and this saved me £90 approx.  Our home has been underpinned (about 39 years ago and before we bought it), so I have to be very cautious about changing insurers - some will not provide cover and, if they do, a financial endorsement is applied.

When I went with AF in 2013 I advised them of the underpinning and the agent said that, because there had been no further movement since the underpinning, an endorsement would not be applied.  And yet last year, when I mentioned the underpinning whilst discussing a different matter, they issued a new policy to include an endorsement of £2,500 excess.  I have no knowledge of whether this will increase in the future.  Over time different rules can apply depending on which insurance company AF select for brokerage - when the renewal premium is offered, AF simply say that they have researched to find the best cover, so a lot of trust is given here.

[Cyker]

Yeah the differences in cover, even with cars, is surprisingly big - I've learned not to assume e.g. courtesy cars, being able to drive other cars, what counts as a mod etc.

[Haliotis]

14 hours ago, Cyker said:

Yeah the differences in cover, even with cars, is surprisingly big - I've learned not to assume e.g. courtesy cars, being able to drive other cars, what counts as a mod etc.

On the last point, I am seriously considering fitting the space-saver wheel kit to my car.  Would this count as a modification? - it would certainly not affect the operational use of the car, but simply provide easier and shorter time to get vehicle back into service.

[Cyker]

I must admit I don't know as I've been lucky to only have cars that have had spare wheels!

I suspect if no model of that car came with one you'd have to declare it, but I think most insurers would just note it down without charging extra as I've yet to see an insurer with Additional Spare Wheel as a modification option  

Most of the sane insurers say you only need to declare mods which "enhance or increase the value or performance of the vehicle" so you'd not need to declare it with those, but there are insurers who say you must declare all mods to the base-level car, even factory-fitted ones and in one case higher trims (!) (I tend to avoid those sorts of insurers as they're usually the worst to deal with in an incident), so you have to read the fine print.

(Those sorts of terms are one of the things that I wish they were forced to standardise on, and have any deviations from that standard highlighted in big clear writing!)

 

[Haliotis]

When I towed a caravan I always fitted (or had fitted on later cars) a tow bar and associated electrics.  I always mentioned this when changing insurers but never had any issues or additional charges.  I have heard of adding rally stripes earning an additional charge, and in some cases if alloy wheels are upgraded from the ones fitted as standard to the model.

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

On 11/9/2024 at 11:31 AM, Haliotis said:

Today I renewed my home insurance with Adrian Flux.  They asked if I had a car, and would I like a renewal quote for that?  My car insurance expires on 09/12/2024, so I said yes.   After going through the details, I waited whilst a quote was given.  The agent came back with a premium of £1,803.27.  When I said this was ridiculously high, he simply closed the conversation.

My current insurer is Tesco Bank, and the expiring premium was around £860 - this was an increase of over £300 from the previous year, with no change in circumstances.   I have had one fault claim in over 70 years of driving, and that was a caravan-to-caravan scrape on a seething overflow M-way parking area, back in 2011 - which was covered by my caravan comprehensive insurance, so advising this to my car insurer was a simple formality that cost them nothing.

Hi.

I'm sorry we couldn't help with a competitive insurance quote. If you wanted to PM me your details I'd be happy to take another look at the details again for you to see if there is anything else we can do.

Regards,

Dan.

[Haliotis]

16 hours ago, DAN@ADRIAN FLUX said:

Hi.

I'm sorry we couldn't help with a competitive insurance quote. If you wanted to PM me your details I'd be happy to take another look at the details again for you to see if there is anything else we can do.

Regards,

Dan.

Thank you for your interest Dan, but I doubt that you can get it down to an acceptable figure.  The premium for my current insurance (expires 09/12/2024) was £865.97p.  This was an increase of about £300 for the previous year, for no tangible reason as my circumstances were totally unchanged.  The premium details are a bit hard to pin down because I changed from a VW Caravelle to my current Toyota CH-R in April 2023, which earned me a refund of £103.01, so a leap in premium was not due to the switch to my Toyota.

[forkingabout]

It's down to the vehicle your insuring, a C-HR of that era is extremely easy to steal.

Insurance companies will either:

1) Load the premium.

2) Insist on an secondary Thatcham or TASSA approved security device to be fitted.

3) Refuse to even offer cover for it.

[Haliotis]

According to info I have been able to obtain, my car is not an easy one to steal provided I have taken standard precautions.

[Haliotis]

Today I tried for a quote on line from the RAC.   After completing the required information, a quote came back of an eye-watering £3,497.52.  More worrying, a policy detail was generated which appears to imply that a contract has been entered into.  I tried their virtual assistant, only to be informed that, “Sorry I can’t confirm that.   For me, the RAC are now poison - I would neither touch them with a barge pole nor recommend them to my worst enemy!

[forkingabout]

19 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

According to info I have been able to obtain, my car is not an easy one to steal provided I have taken standard precautions.

Did you confirm that with Toyota UK by asking?

https://mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-gb-statement-on-vehicle-theft/

[Haliotis]

Have now tried Toyota Insurance - this puts you through the Quotezone.co.uk website.  Here, best quote was ageas at £1,527.22.  Qoyes then climbed through £6,000+ , then remaining ones simply stated they could not cover this driver’s circumstances - I have no “circumstances” apart from my age.    Strangely, one of these ‘cannot’ sites was the RAC, although their direct website offered cover at a premium of £3,497.52p .  So, I am fit for cover providing I am prepared to be ripped off!

Of greater concern, though, is that one of the “cannots” is Tesco Insurance with whom I am currently insured.

Periodically, there have been suggestions in the media that drivers should go through an assessment of fitness to drive after the age of 80.  If this were to happen, and it resulted in fit drivers getting a fair deal, then I say bring it on.  I think it has to be accepted that there are some very elderly drivers who may honestly be unfit to continue to drive.  It is also true that there are many much younger drivers who , too, are not safe behind the wheel.  But I wonder, when drivers are banned for a serious offence, how many eventually get their licences back without having to first submit to a driving test?

If insurers were decent and honest, they would be fair to elderly drivers, and only apply punitive premiums or refusal to cover, after they had committed a fault claim.  I know that this doesn’t cover the ‘near misses’, but, if one wants to argue over this, then we need to consider near misses caused by younger drivers, and where an elderly driver is involved but not themselves contributory to a near miss or an accident.

[Cyker]

I really do want to know why we're all struggling to find sanely priced insurance when people with a hundred points on their license apparently don't have such trouble...  

[ic2]

4 hours ago, Haliotis said:

Of greater concern, though, is that one of the “cannots” is Tesco Insurance 

Totally agree. They were my insurer for Yaris cross GR, upgraded to Yaris cross premiere in July and Tesco computer says no. Asked why, and they cannot tell me. Went with Hastings in the end. 

[Haliotis]

6 hours ago, forkingabout said:

Did you confirm that with Toyota UK by asking?

https://mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-gb-statement-on-vehicle-theft/

I have looked at above details, but think it best to contact my dealership service dept and get advice.  Then I will act on their advice. 

Our S-I-L has had two lockable raising pillars fitted in his driveway and, as I keep my car on the drive (garage used as DIY workshop), I am considering same for my driveway.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Similar topics merged.

[forkingabout]

6 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

I have looked at above details, but think it best to contact my dealership service dept and get advice.  Then I will act on their advice. 

Use that link & ask Toyota UK directly using your reg number.

 

 

[Heidfirst]

5 hours ago, Haliotis said:

Have now tried Toyota Insurance - this puts you through the Quotezone.co.uk website.

it shouldn't do, I suspect that you have been mislead by a link (designed to do just that) ...

https://quote.toyotamotorinsurance.co.uk/quoteandbuy/app/html/#/about-you

(they have never been cheap for me though & they don't like anything modified)

 

[APS]

For balance, a slightly different story... I was bracing myself for the renewal on the GR86 this autumn. I discounted renewing with the current insurer as it is always more expensive. So started the big hunt almost a month before it was due and was appalled to see how many insurers blankly refused to even provide a quote. Then two weeks before expiry, a physical letter plonked through the mail from my current insurer with a renewal offer. It was less than half of last year's premium. A quick glance out the window checking for airborne pigs. Nope. It was real. Such a rare occurrence.

 

[Haliotis]

14 hours ago, Heidfirst said:

it shouldn't do, I suspect that you have been mislead by a link (designed to do just that) ...

https://quote.toyotamotorinsurance.co.uk/quoteandbuy/app/html/#/about-you

(they have never been cheap for me though & they don't like anything modified)

 

Have just been on the Toyota website shown above.  When I began to enter my details, the required year of birth stopped at 1943 and it would not allow manual entry.  So i assume that 1943 is the oldest birth year that is acceptable (mine is 1935).  There is a “contact us” facility, but would I be wasting my time?  If they did consider me, I would most likely be back into the high premium bracket that the other insurers apply.

[FROSTYBALLS]

According to Which? the following insure drivers over 80:

Axa - 85 age limit

Aviva - 84

AA - 99

Churchill - No age limit if bought direct (80 if bought via Price Comparison Wbsite)

Co-op Insurance - 99

Direct Line - No age limit

Saga - No age limit

Sheilas' Wheels 90

RAC - dependent on underwriter

Santander - 99

Tesco - 85

Admiral - 90

esure - 90

Sainsbury's Bank - No age limit

Hasting's Direct - 82

[MC1216]

17 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

Have just been on the Toyota website shown above.  When I began to enter my details, the required year of birth stopped at 1943 and it would not allow manual entry.  So i assume that 1943 is the oldest birth year that is acceptable (mine is 1935).  There is a “contact us” facility, but would I be wasting my time?  If they did consider me, I would most likely be back into the high premium bracket that the other insurers apply.

Can't believe that from Toyota...i accept that they might not want to insure anyone over 80 but that is clearly ageism and not acceptable from any insurance company in the 21st century.

[FROSTYBALLS]

5 minutes ago, MC1216 said:

Can't believe that from Toyota

Toyota Insurance is provided by Aioi Nissay Dowa, so it is they who set things like age limits, etc.

Virtually all car manufacturer branded car insurance is provided by third party insurers.

[Haliotis]

Thanks Mike, that list is very handy to know.

Been thinking about way back.  I remember when you could simply telephone a car insurer and discuss a proposal on the basis of your driving experience and record.  Things seemed to change in the early 70s, and most insurers put their business through brokers.  For quite a few years, until he retired, I dealt with a broker named Reginald Rudd and he had his office in the centre of Leicester.  You could go in and see him personally, and even call him at his home out of office hours. I think he was highly regarded in the industry and, as he got to know his clientele, the insurance companies trusted his judgement.  So different to today, where insurers and their agents don’t know you from Adam, and are only interested in applying a financial squeeze.